The Black Cat and His Tangerine
by KawaiiGirl1215
Summary: Sure, we all know what happened when Natsume found Mikan, but what about what happened those four years in between? ON HIATUS, UNDER REVISION
1. Chapter 1

Part One

One week after Sakura Mikan had left, the mood in the air was still gloomy. It didn't help that Hyuuga Natsume was still in the hospital and hadn't woken up yet, and no one wanted to have the painful job of telling him that Mikan was gone. Also, no one knew where Imai Hotaru was, which made matters worse. Even Narumi looked sad and lost.

"Sensei, where is Hotaru-chan?" Nonoko asked.

"No one knows for sure. She and her brother are somewhere lost in time and space."

Iinchou made his way up to the front of the class. "Well, if Imai-san was here she would pull out her baka gun and start firing at us, because we're so out of it. And if… Mikan… were here she'd…" Everyone knew what he meant. If Mikan had been here, she would find a way to change the atmosphere. But she wasn't here.

He looked at the class. Sumire was trying to look nonchalant, but was failing. Ruka was sadly stroking his bunny's fur. Nonoko and Anna were lost in thought. Even Kokoroyomi looked dull. Iinchou sighed. Apparently he would have to take initiative. "Okay," he decided. "Today we are going to check up on Hyuuga-san, and see when he'll wake up." The rest of his classmates nodded silently, and he thought, _How is it that you don't appreciate the brightness of your candle until the flame is put out?_

…

At the Alice Academy Hospital, the nurses told Class B that they unfortunately did not know when Natsume would recover. One of the nurses reassured them. "Don't worry, I'm sure it will be any day now."

Ruka regarded his best friend with concerned eyes and prayed for him. "Natsume… wake up soon, 'kay?" he said, his voice cracking on 'kay. For a second, nothing happened. Then what sounded like a moan escaped from his lips, barely audible. Then it came again, louder this time.

"Mikan."

Natsume shot up, panting as if he had woken up from a horrible nightmare. "Ruka," he acknowledged. And then, to wide-eyed Sumire and Iinchou he said, "Permy. Class Rep." He frowned as if remembering something. "Where's Mikan?" he asked. The room fell silent. "Where's Mikan?" he asked again, more angry and forceful this time. Ruka had taken up the job of breaking the news.

"Natsume," he started gently, "when Mikan saved you, she used up the last bit of her alice. She didn't have an alice anymore so…" Even Natsume's best friend didn't know how to say the next part. But he swallowed and kept on going. "Since Sakura lost her alice, she was forced to leave the school. However, since she had strong ties with the Academy, she was forced to lose her memories of this place as well." Ruka stood back and waited for it to sink in. It was a good thing too, because just a few seconds later Natsume's bed and table burst into flames. "No," he whispered, over and over. So Natsume decided from that point on, that even if it took years, he would do whatever it took to get Sakura Mikan back.

Part Two

A few months later, a new student came to Class B. Her name was Yamamoto Chikako, and was there to replace Mikan. Everyone regarded Chikako with cold eyes, except Iinchou. He just looked sad. Chikako was a very pretty girl with shoulder-length dark brown hair. Her eyes were curious as she took in her surroundings, but heartless and deceiving, as if she knew that she was far better than everyone else and there was nothing they could do about it. But those eyes instantly lit up as the fell upon Hyuuga Natsume and Nogi Ruka, the two best-looking boys in the grade. _Whoa, those guys are hot!,_ she thought. She became even happier when she saw that the seat next to the black-haired one was open. She sidled up to the teacher. "Sensei, may I sit in that seat?" she asked prettily. "If you must," Narumi replied wearily.

All eyes were on Chikako as she walked up to Mikan's old seat. "Narumi-sensei, are you just going to give up Mikan-chan's old seat?" Anna said. Natsume, who hadn't been listening, looked up sharply when he heard the name 'Mikan', and finally noticed Chikako walking down the aisleway. She plopped down in her seat and flashed a dazzling smile. "Hi, I'm Chikako. Nice to meet you." Ruka glanced at her and nodded; Natsume glared at her and grunted. Chikako winced inwardly and her smile faltered. The whole class was glaring and frowning at her now. Sumire especially looked like she was going to punch somebody in the face. Whispers flew across the room.

"Who does that girl think she is?"

"Honestly! The nerve!"

"Someone should really inform her about Mikan… there's no way he'll fall for her…"

"You know, she'll have to be Natsume's partner now…"

The mutters went on and on. Chikako tried to look proud and unaffected, but that was kind of hard when the whole class was talking about you in a not-so-good way. _Well, at least I know someone at this freak school,_ she thought, while remembering her friends Yuka and Sayuki.

She met Yuka and Sayuki at lunch. Both were half Japanese and half French. Takashima Sayuki had waist-length wavy blonde hair and was loud and obnoxious. So she was basically the perfect friend for Chikako. Sasaki Yuka had short blonde hair (like Hotaru's, except blonde) and grey-blue eyes. She was a softspoken girl, but was kind of a personal gossip column. She knew about almost everything that happened at Alice Academy.

"So Yuka, who is this Mikan-chan that everybody's talking about?" Chikako asked.

"Oh Chi-chan, she's like the best!" Yuka said enthusiastically. "From what I've heard," she added sheepishly because Chikako was staring at her.

"Ooookaaaayy… Was she smart?" Chikako asked. Yuka laughed.

"Not at all! She was probably the dumbest person you could ever meet!"

"Then was she pretty?" Yuka thought about it.

"Not particularly. I guess."

A bell rang. Lunch was over. The trio said their goodbyes and went to their respective classrooms. Chikako was still wondering why anybody would like Mikan by the time she sat down in class.

This time people were glaring at her again and talking about how if Mikan were here, everything would be so much nicer and that Mikan was far better than this Chikako girl. With each whisper and murmur Chikako felt an emotion burn up inside of her. But it wasn't shame or sadness. No, this time Chikako had had enough.

She raised her voice to be heard over her classmates. "Honestly, this Mikan that everyone's talking about, why does anyone like her?" she asked to nobody in particular. The room became silent. "Yeah, she doesn't sound like a big deal; she's dumb and ugly." Chikako then realized that everyone in the room was staring daggers at her and looked like they were going to murder her that instant. But what Chikako didn't know was that the worst was yet to come.

Ruka's sadness had been replaced with a kind of cold fury. Natsume - oh, Natsume - had slowly gotten up from his chair. Everyone in the class instinctively got up from their chairs and stepped back. As if Natsume was waiting for the all-clear, every single table in the room burst into flames. Fire licked Natsume's hands as he made his way towards Chikako. "Don't you dare," Natsume said in a low, threatening voice. "Don't you dare say-" Natsume's voice cracked. After all, he was going to say a name that he hadn't said in 3 months and 16 days. "-say such things about Mikan." He stepped closer to Chikako, so that she could see the orange flecks in his deep red eyes. "If you say one more word about her, I will personally see to it that you won't be in this classroom for a while."

Chikako was pretty sure he didn't mean that he would force her to switch classes. Although Chikako was trembling in fear on the inside, she responded in a cool, detatched voice. "Fine."

She stayed calm druing class and even denied anything when Narumi noticed something was wrong. Ruka kept glancing at her, while Natsume was glaring at her without even looking at her.

Oh what had she done now?

Chikako's mother had always warned her about her big mouth. Chikako would go off and say something she didn't mean, and everyone would hate her afterwards for it. It wasn't her fault that she was an impulsive speaker. All of Chikako's friends knew this, so they knew that while she may seem bratty and cold, she wasn't always like that. At least she tried not to be.

After class, Chikako walked right out of the classroom, not caring what her friends would do if she didn't show up at their meeting spot. She was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, so she broke into a sprint and ran until she stopped under a tree. It just so happened that it was the Sakura Tree.

As soon and she reached her destination, Chikako burst into tears. _What kind of mess did I get myself into? Natsume and Ruka are never going to even look at me now. Nor will the rest of the class..._

"I just want to go home!" Chikako wailed, now full-on sobbing. She stayed like that for a little while, before resting her head on her arms, and pulling her knees up.

"That's not the kind of thinking they'd be wanting you to do here." Chikako's head shot up, and so did her guard.

Ruka.

"W-what do you want?" she mumbled, facing away from Ruka so she could hastily wipe away any remaining tears. Instead of being ruffled at her heartless attitude, Ruka plopped down right next to her.

"Listen," he started. His eyes were serious and no-nonsense now. "I'm really sorry about Natsume. He's..." Ruka hesitated. "He's been through a lot. I hope you can forgive him." Chikako wanted to scream, _What about you, huh? You didn't do anything! You let him embarrass me in front of everyone!_ As if reading her mind, he began again, "I know it's partly my fault too. Actually, it's partly everyone's fault. But you didn't have to go and say those things about Mikan."

There was that word again. Chikako was starting to believe that Mikan would haunt her in her grave.

"But! But everyone was comparing me to that-that girl whom I don't even know! Saying how Mikan was so much better and that I didn't deserve to sit next to Natsume, and I-I didn't even do anything!" she yelled. Ruka looked a bit taken aback, but reserved himself back to his quiet demeanor.

"You're right. But we're both wrong." Ruka faced her again with a sudden dose of courage. "What if I told you that Mikan completely changed the lives of everyone in that class in just two years. What if I told you that the way Natsume just acted to you was close to the same way Natsume would have acted to me 3 years ago? His own best friend?" Her mouth was hanging open by now. Although she had initially thought Alice Academy was a school for freaks, she had learned more than she learned at any other school here.

Besides, Natsume sounded... Chikako almost wanted to pity him. Ruka glanced upwards quickly, but she kept her eyes on him. Not backing down, Chikako started, "...I want to help him."

That got him listening.

I carried on. "Natsume... he reminds me of my brother. My brother used to be exactly like him, personality-wise." Ruka didn't question the _used to be._ Chikako thought that he must have already had a used to be. Maybe even more than one.

Chikako's brother had died in a car crash. Chikako didn't like to talk about it, because it was her fault.

"...Okay." Chikako almost didn't hear Ruka's response. "But if you want to do that, you'll have to involve yourself with Mikan." Chikako turned a questioning gaze upon him, but readily agreed.

"And I'm sorry for saying those things about her. I know it was wrong, but I couldn't help feeling unfairly compared." Ruka nodded at that.

"I'm sorry too, on Natsume's behalf and my own. It wasn't right to put the pressure of living up to Mikan on you. I guess we just still couldn't deal with her being gone, especially Natsume."

"What happened to Mikan anyways? Is it something really bad?" Chikako asked. Ruka opened his mouth to reply when-

 _Whoosh!_

Chikako gasped, but Ruka didn't look too surprised. Something had fallen out of the tree.

Holding his trusty manga, Natsume walked away in front of them, not once looking back.


	2. Chapter 2

**Ruka flipped through pages of Alice Academy's yearbooks in the library while keeping an eye on Natsume. All of a sudden, he sighed. His consciousness, the annoying little voice inside his head, was grumbling,** _ **What has the world come to that you need to spy on your best friend? I mean, come on, you should be worried about more pressing matters!**_ **Yet he couldn't find a pressing matter to worry about.**

 **Natsume, sitting with his back to Ruka a few tables away, was oblivious to this inner turmoil. He didn't know that Ruka had once again been given a difficult task.** _ **How the heck are we going to save Mikan?**_ **Ruka thought.**

 _ **Hey, what about Hotaru, huh?**_ **the voice said. Ruka felt guilty about forgetting about Hotaru, but he needed to focus on Natsume right now. "We'll leave that to Sakura," Ruka said.**

 **Out loud.**

 **Natsume turned around to face a nervous Ruka.** _ **Damn it, my cover's blown,**_ **Ruka thought. But much to his surprise, Natsume didn't burn him to a crisp on the spot for spying on him. In fact, he came over to Ruka's table, pulled up a chair and continued reading.**

 **Not his daily manga, though.**

 **Ruka was shocked to see Natsume reading… an atlas? The page he was on showed the Kyoto prefecture. With a jolt, Ruka realized that that was where Mikan was from. The Kansai region.**

 **Hesitating, Ruka started, "You don't know where exactly she lives."**

" **I'll figure it out." Natsume answered without looking up. "Even if I'm an old man by that time."**

 **Ruka thought he would say something like that. Now it was Natsume's turn to speak. "Why did you let the brat do that if you knew I was there?"**

 **For a second, Ruka was bewildered. "Oh you mean Yamamoto-san?" he asked while the annoying voice snickered and went,** _ **The Brat?**_ " **I wanted you to hear it." was all the answer Natsume got. They lapsed into silence once more.**

 **The tension in the room increased. Ruka had something to say, and Natsume knew so, yet neither wanted to put it on the table. Finally, "She… She offered to help find Sakura, ya know." Ruka said. Natsume snorted.**

" **Please. We don't even know what the Brat's alice is."**

" **Yeah, but we could find out."**

 **Suddenly, Natsume sat forward and put his atlas down. After about two minutes of silence and mental contemplation, Natsume almost- almost- smiled. "Northern Woods?"**

 **Ruka grinned. "No, how about… Otonashi. And Kokoroyomi. We'll need him too." Ruka explained his idea. Natsume steadfastly agreed. Unfortunately, that was not a good thing.**

* * *

 **Otonashi Yura was not one to participate in anyone's schemes. Yet she couldn't do anything if she was debted to that 'anyone', and they needed her help.**

 **Yup, it was definitely NOT a good idea to be indebted to Kokoroyomi. The guy was a scheme mastermind. But she had really needed help with something one day, and he had just happened to be passing by… let's just say that Yura would rather not go into detail about what happened after that. Just remember: never say "I owe you one."**

 **Sighing, Yura said, "How did I get myself into this?"**

" **Shh." That was Koko. They were hiding behind a building, waiting for three people to emerge from the door. Ruka's idea had come far, and he and Natsume had persuaded Koko to help them, so Koko had come to Otonashi for assistance.**

 **Well, kind of.**

 **If using your Alice on a girl you've never seen before in your life for an unknown reason is help. Yura sighed again, and was shushed again, when suddenly Natsume, Ruka, and… some random girl appeared.**

 **Without moving from her hiding spot, Yura swept her gray-brown hair over her shoulder and peered around the corner.**

 **Natsume was brooding next to Ruka, when Ruka said, "Natsume wants to talk to you about something."**

" **Why doesn't he say so himself, then? You're not his servant," the girl shot back.** _ **Ooh, this one's feisty**_ **, Yura thought.** _ **Wonder what Natsume thinks of her.**_

 **Kokoroyomi rolled his eyes and poked Yura in the side. Oh right, that was her cue. Yura concentrated, then broke into dance. Her attempts were futile though, because the other girl wasn't dancing. Ruka was trying to convince her.**

" **So, I heard that you used to dance…?"**

" **Where'd ya hear that?" For once, Ruka didn't answer. He had no ther choice.** _**Sorry, Yamamoto-san**_ **, he mentally apologized. She wasn't going to like what she was about to do.**

 **Suddenly, loud laughter echoed through the courtyard between the two buildings. Ruka was… tickling her? Yura rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't dreaming. But there he was, tickling away. And the girl was laughing her insides out.**

 **But wait. In her hysteria, the girl was thrashing her arms and flailing her legs. Yura realized that this was the best kind of dance she was gonna get. Yura started dancing again, trying to match the girl's movements the best she could while sticking to her own dance. Her dancing skills had gotten better over the years, definitely, but now it looked like she was back to square one. Suddenly, Yura's dancing ceased. Out of the corner of his eye, Natsume notied this and tapped Ruka once on the shoulder. Yura saw a car… veering precariously on a sharp turn only to be stopped by-**

 **That was it. The vision was gone. When Yura opened her eyes, Kokoroyomi's were closed. He opened his mouth to speak.**

 **A few seconds after his words had died, the girl was gaping, and Ruka was incredibly shocked too. In fact, even Natsume's eyes had widened. Because none of them could fathom what Kokoroyomi had just said.**

" **Metal-Manipulating Alice."**


	3. Chapter 3

**Oh my goshness, sorry about the late update guys! I had so much stuff going on (ya know the drill, projects, math tests, and whatnot) and then my teacher sprung a writing contest on the class, and the entry was due by Feb. 1! So I wanted to participate, and was spending a little time writing that.**

 **Check it out! If you win, you get $1000! (See all the cases)**

 **Sorry, the link isn't working, so I'll just say: The website is bluefire (dot org) (not to be confused with .com) and all you have to do click the 1000 WORD CONTEST.**

 **Anyways, wish me luck for my project! I'm performing (something) in front of the class, so I'm gonna need it.**

* * *

It all came back to her. The lights, the screaming, the concerned people. She could even picture how her brother looked right before he died. It was too much. Chikako crouched down with her hands over her ears.

"Stop pretending to care!" she screamed. "Why are you acting like this?! It's not your fault! It's my fault! It's all my fault!" she shrieked. Ruka looked alarmed. Natsume wasn't acting all cool now either.

"Chi… kako? Are… you okay?" Ruka asked.

"No! No, make it stop!" she begged. Yura could hide no longer. She burst out of her hiding place and put her arms around Chikako. "Shh, it'll be okay, don't worry." Chikako started crying loudly.

"He's gone and it's all my fault!" she screamed. Yura comforted her. "There, there. The past is the past. I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to carry on now. You know that he'd want that." Although Yura had not seen all of the vision, she could imagine what was about to happen next. Slowly, Chikako's wails subsided, and she just sat there, looking a little embarrassed. She wiped her eyes and looked up at Yura.

"How'd you know what I was thinking about? And who're you anyway?" Chikako asked.

"Let me explain." Yura began. But before he could answer her, Natsume spoke up. The realization of Chikako's Alice had finally sunk in.

"Did you say Metal-Manipulating Alice?" Natsume started, startling the group with his voice. "Think about it: what class was the last Metal-Manipulating Alice in?" Silence ensued as all the Alice Academy students except one stared each other down, daring each other to say it. Finally, Kokoroyomi went, "Wasn't it… Ito Daichi…?"

Ruka nodded gravely, and then Natsume said, "Dangerous Ability Class."

* * *

Natsume was officially hopeless. There was no going back now. He stared at the atlas in vain. Oh, who was he kidding? He didn't know where Mikan lived!

Right now he was in his room. He had taken the Japan Atlas without checking it out from the library. Natsume growled and threw the atlas across the room in frustration, where it hit the wall with a _smack!_

 _Why did Polka Dots have to be such an idiot?_ he thought. _Why did she have to save me?!_ _She should've just saved herself,_ he thought bitterly. "That baka." he said. "Why is she so…" He struggled to find the right word. He sighed and got up from his desk.

"Baka," before slamming the door.

 **(A/N: Okay, listen up people, I did my research and the girl who travels through mirrors in Chapter 019 or the Alice Academy Festival episode was never named, so… I'm going to call her Omori Rina (last name before first). Also, you might want to refresh your memory of that episode/chapter for this part.)**

He didn't even know where he was going. Natsume did this sometimes, when he couldn't stay in one place and just had to leave. Only Ruka knew he did this, like when he used to sit on the roof when he was younger.

His feet seemed to have a mind of their own, because they took him to… outside the girl's dormitory.

Well that's weird.

And you know another thing that's weird? Some random girl who was sitting outside just glanced at Natsume and stood up so suddenly that her chair fell over with a crash.

She looked at him uncertainly. "You-you don't have another cockroach, do you?" And that's when Natsume remembered why she was acting like that.

He remembered that this girl, who looked to be about 15 or 16, was in Mikan's Special Ability Class. She was the girl who got scared of a mechanical cockroach and had a Mirror-Traveling Alice. Wait… he had an idea…

"Listen," he said to her. "What's your name?"

"Uh, Omori Rina." His guess was right.

"If I remember correctly, you have a sister…" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Natsume. Natsume sighed.

"I need your help, okay?" Natsume muttered, and looked away. Rina looked taken aback. She wasn't used to the infamous Natsume Hyuuga asking for help. He wasn't used to it either, but unfortunately, desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Don't you have a sister who has the Alice to look into mirrors and see another reflection?" he asked

"Yeah…" Rina started.

"I need to see someone. If I ask for a favor, what do I need to know?"

Rina frowned. "Um, let's see. So you need to know the person's name, how they look, and… oh yeah! Where they are at the moment. You'll be able to see them as long as they are wearing or holding the mirror. But you need to know where they live too, otherwise it won't have a base."

Natsume didn't get that, but he understood most of it anyways. He got what he needed to know. But how to get the information? Natsume closed his eyes. The only person he could think of was Hotaru. Who else had been to Mikan's house?

Suddenly his eyes flew open. He ran off towards the Elementary School Building without a word of thanks.

But he looked back at Rina, and she saw in his eyes that he was deeply grateful. And that he'd be back soon. Rina opened up her book to study. Guess she'd be staying here for longer than she thought.

Meanwhile, Natsume raced away, passing the courtyard he'd been in a few hours ago, and the Sakura tree. Time to put his plan into action.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Sorry for the late update last time. Forgot to mention that. I was really busy with life and stuff. Anyway, I just found something that was really cool and I didn't know about! So you know how Hotaru has a robot-android thingy to do stuff for her named Amanatsu? Well, I started typing Natsumikan on my searchbar (ya know, to read NatsuMikan fanfiction *hee hee*), and you know what came up? A Wikipedia article about a fruit called Amanatsu, which is also called Natsumikan! Cool right? That means that Hotaru (kind of) shipped Natsume and Mikan before she even knew it herself. *fangirl giggle and squeal***

Okay, Narumi had to admit; he _was_ expecting his door to burst open. Just not by the person he was expecting.

So when Natsume ran into the room instead of Misaki (Narumi had done some… unpleasing things involving the Alice Academy Greenhouse.), Narumi had to say he was surprised.

"Where're those letters?" Natsume asked, slightly puffing.

Well that was a straight question.

Natsume shook his head, as if to clear something out, and tried again. "Narumi, what address did you go to to deliver Mikan's letter to her Ji-chan?"

Narumi's eyes widened. _Did he just…? What is he going to do with that information? He won't go after her..._

"That's confidential." _WHAM!_ Hands slammed down onto Narumi's desk, but he didn't even flinch. He had known this was coming.

"You do want her back, don't you?" Natsume asked in a low voice. Narumi inwardly bit his lip. This boy really knew how to get to him. But Narumi stood tall. He wasn't one to feel threatened by the kuro neko. He had had Natsume in his class through thick and thin, and wasn't fazed by it.

But he was curious.

He knew that there was no way that Natsume could escape Alice Academy at the moment, so what could he possibly do with Mikan's address?

"What are you going to do, Natsume?" Narumi had to know, but Natsume just shook his head.

The two stared each other down for a few minutes, before Natsume looked away. Narumi was surprised. He'd never known Natsume to be one to look away first. _But I guess people change people,_ he thought.

Still examining the floor, Natsume finally sighed and said, "Nothing illegal, okay?" Narumi smiled. He knew that Natsume had a hidden meaning to his message: _Nothing illegal, not yet anyway._ He'd be all right, and Mikan would too.

Narumi beckoned the teen closer, and whispered the address into his ear.

For the first time since Mikan left, Natsume let out a genuine smile. He was getting somewhere. And that somewhere was wherever Mikan was.

Natsume dashed back to Cockroach Girl (Yeah, yeah. Sure, he knew her name. But if he didn't make up a nickname for her, he wouldn't be Natsume!), and panting, told her the address.

Rina was pleased. It was common knowledge that Natsume, the coldhearted Special Star, liked Mikan, the No Star/One Star (depended on Jinno-sensei's mood), but she didn't know he would go to such lengths for her.

While he was away, Rina had called her sister over to be ready for him. Omori Rika, the aforementioned sister, didn't know what to think. That the infamous Natsume Hyuuga needed her help, or that she let her sister pull her out of the shower to help this guy.

Her hair was still dripping wet, but Natsume didn't bat an eyelash at her damp attire. He simply stated the address and waited.

Rika did her magic (or used her Alice), and soon the mirror which she had chipped from her bathroom mirror was glowing with the image of a Japanese house bathed in light from the afternoon.

Rika looked up. "Now here's the tricky part," she said. "I need you to tell me where the individual is right now, or at most 30 minutes ago." Natsume gulped. He had been anticipating this part.

He checked his watch. 3:30. "At school," he promptly stated, then held his breath. The jagged piece of mirror flashed with a blinding light so that all three had to cover their eyes, and started shimmering. Rika was impressed. "You were right. Now it'll take about until midnight to see the desired individual." Although Rika knew who it was (anyone could guess and get it on their first try), she wanted to stay professional. But that thought disappeared when she handed the the mirror to Natsume and turned to glare at her sister. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a BATH!"

Natsume watched her walk away. _Huh_ , he thought. _The Shrink's pretty odd._

In his bedroom, Natsume tried to busy himself doing other things. However, he found it hard to avoid looking at the fateful piece of mirror. When Natsume had finally calmed his jittery nerves by reading a volume of Death Note manga, out of the corner of his eye, the mirror glowed.

Natsume was at his table, reaching for it, in seconds. But before he could pick it up, his breath caught.

In it lay the sleeping figure of his very own Polka Dots.

CHAPTER 4 ½

Mikan woke up with a jolt. She'd had a weird dream again. _Oh well_ , she thought. _At least I didn't get less than a 50 on today's test!_ (She had gotten a 59) As if that had anything to do with dreams. Mikan yawned and stretched her arms, consequently hitting the wall with her hands with a _THUMP._ Mikan covered her mouth to keep herself from hissing in pain. One of these days, her Ji-chan said, she would break her leg by tripping over a crack in the sidewalk.

Mikan yawned again, then checked the time. 1:26 in the morning. She had better go back to sleep soon if she wanted to go to school on time.

She softly padded to the kitchen to get herself a glass of water. Carrying it back to her bedroom, Mikan switched off the light and closed her eyes. But after about 5 minutes, they sprang back open again.

Because Mikan just couldn't forget her dream, with the raven-haired boy whose eyes swallowed her up and caused her to forget about whatever she was thinking. The raven-haired boy who was reaching out to her, as if asking her to hold onto his hand and never let go. But before she had put her hand in his, she had woken up. And left the boy with a look on his face like he would never see happiness again.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi guys! As you might've noticed, I haven't been updating as often as before. That's why I'd like to make an announcement.**

 **I'm probably only going to update once a week (I update on weekends), two weeks at most. But it won't come to that, I hope. Just wanted to warn you in advance, so you don't wonder. If you do wonder.**

 **Anyways! Enjoy the slightly longer chapter, provided by moi. (I was guilty that I hadn't updated in awhile, so I made it a little longer.)**

 **The idea that Natsume cannot leave the academy is credited to the Gakuen Alice fanfiction writer November Romeo.**

* * *

Natsume didn't go to school the next day. Class B was buzzing. Where was the notorious Natsume Hyuuga? Only one person knew, and that one wasn't in class either. In fact, Kokoroyomi had seen the two in a corner, staring at… a shard of glass?

Strange things happened in this school.

Narumi had enough people in different places to figure out what had happened with Natsume and the Mirror-Traveling Alice's sister, so he let Ruka and Natsume stay in the latter's dorm room for a few days.

But after four days, people were really starting to wonder. And Natsume had to come back. Mikan tucked safely in his blazer pocket, Natsume walked out of his room with an air of nonchalance.

Really, on the inside, he was squealing like a kid on Christmas. Well, squealing as much as you can imagine him squealing.

No one asked him questions, such as, "Where were you?" or "What're you doin'?" or anything like that. However, the people stared, as if trying to solve an equation when they didn't know what the numbers were yet.

 _Typical idiots,_ Natsume thought. _They don't know what happened, they're too scared to ask, and yet they try to figure it out themselves?_ The school was buzzing. Girls were whispering, and boys would pause their conversations when he walked by.

But Natsume's unknown news travelled fast. Alice Academy wasn't the only place interested in the kuro neko.

* * *

Chikako made her way over to her seat, before class started. Natsume was sleeping under the protection of his manga ( _Bleach_ , this time) and Ruka was staring at a pair of panda earphones (whatever those were).

She put her hands down on the table with a _smack!_ Ruka jumped, startled. Natsume pushed the manga away and looked up at her in disinterest. The kids around them quieted, but the whole class didn't know what happened yet.

"I want you to tell me what happened when you guys weren't here," Chikako hissed. Ruka stared, and somehow, it was Natsume that answered this time. His eyes displayed his message. _Not here._

Chikako wanted to scream in frustration, or ponder in curiousity. Because the fact that Natsume did something, and not his henchman Ruka, was a sign that this was big.

"What? You think I can't take it? Everyone knows something happened, otherwise you guys would be at school. For heaven's sake, I bet one of you could've been mortally wounded, and the other would still be here in Class B. Don't you trust me? I thought I was going to he-"

Ruka dragged a protesting Chikako out of the room, with a hand over her mouth.

In the hallway, he whispered, "What are you doing?! In case you haven't noticed, we've been keeping this secret for a reason!"

Chikako opened her mouth to speak, but Ruka continued, "We trust you, okay? However, we don't trust the twenty-something other students in class that hear our conversation not to blab it in front of Shiki-sensei or something!"

Chikako wanted to ask, "Who's Shiki-sensei?" but Ruka glared at her one more time before shoving the class door back open and leaving her in the dust.

"Hey!" Chikako protested, then opened the door (in a much calmer manner) herself. "Gentlemen first, I guess," she muttered.

All eyes were on her as she made her way back to her seat. Ruka was clearing avoiding her questioning gaze. Chikako sighed. _Fine_ , she thought. _Whatever… hey, what's that?_ A small piece of paper, looking as though it was roughly ripped out of a notebook, lay on her desk. Lilting handwriting was scrawled over it.

 _ **Sakura Tree Courtyard, right after school**_

She looked at Natsume, but he looked bored as usual. _Hmph,_ Chikako thought as she smiled. She would get her answers after all.

* * *

Natsume was impatient. The Brat had better get here on time or he was leaving, and he wouldn't let her bother him again. It was 7 minutes after school had ended, and she wasn't here yet. Maybe she got caught up? Natsume shook his head at himself. After all, she was the one who wanted to know about the discovery so bad, so she wouldn't waste her chance.

… Right?

9 minutes after school had ended. Ruka didn't know about the note, so it would be just Chikako and him. And Mikan, kind of.

 _I wonder what she's doing right now… Should I look in the mirror? No… what if someone catches me? It's not like there's a shortage of people here._

He was right. There were a lot of people in the courtyard, but they knew not to bother Natsume. High schoolers were sitting at tables in small clusters doing homework, couples were talking on wooden benches, there was even a group of middle schoolers practicing their alices. One kid was levitating another, higher and higher… Maybe he was testing how high he could go…

"Sorry I'm late!" someone shrieked. Natsume jumped, just slightly. Chikako's hair was windblown, and she was holding a bunch of papers. "This idiot guy rammed into me in the hallway, and all my stuff fell, so I asked him to pick it up, _obviously_ , because _he_ bumped into _me_ , but he was such a jerk and refused and he started arguing and then-"

Natsume could've listened to the whole story, because it was amusing watching her get mad and rant about some "idiot guy," but he had more more important things to discuss.

"Do you want to know or not?" he asked in false irritation. Of course, the only people who could see through that was Mikan, Ruka, and Hotaru…

Natsume jerked back, as if hit by a sudden force. He had forgotten about Imai. For some reason, he felt slightly guilty. _Oh well, I bet Ruka will make us look for her if… when… we find Mikan._

"Yes, of course!" Chikako responded with enthusiasm. So they sat down, and Natsume told her his story about what happened that day he wasn't there. She listened quietly, making interruptions only to clarify something.

"Here's the mirror." Natsume took the mirror out of his shirt's breast pocket and held it up for Chikako to see.

Chikako took a sharp intake of breath. There was a girl in it…

Natsume smiled. The first smile that Chikako had ever seen him give.

"That," he started, "is Sakura Mikan." Chikako smiled too, as she watched the girl go about her house, preparing something to eat, talking to her grandpa.

"Hello, Mikan-chan. Nice to meet you. Hope you don't mind me calling you that."

"She wouldn't mind at all."

* * *

Before they departed, Chikako asked Natsume some questions about his Polka Dots, and he ended up telling her what she did at Alice Academy, who she was, why she wasn't here…

Chikako listened thoughtfully, sometimes grinning when told her about the time Class B all switched bodies, or tearing up when hearing about how she saved his life.

"Wait." she started. "If you can see her through that mirror whenever you want, then can you see her, you know, like, when she's taking a shower or something?" The mirror had been put away.

Natsume almost blushed, but maintained his composure. "No, the mirror won't show me her when she's doing… something like that. I don't know the guidelines or anything, but it won't work."

"Wait… Does that mean you've tried it?"

Natsume didn't answer.

* * *

Around an hour later, Natsume was walking back to his dorm, mirror clutched in his hand. A shadow passed in front of him.

Suddenly, Natsume lit up his alice. A ball of sparking flame in his right hand lit up the corridor. "What do you want?" he asked to the silence.

Slowly, a figure came out. There was a mask on the person's face, made to look like a skull.

"I know what happened to your Cherry Blossom." Natsume hid his fear. They knew about Mikan? That wasn't good. Natsume could instantly tell that this guy wasn't exactly a good guy.

"What do you want?" Natsume repeated.

"I know where the little Cherry Blossom is."

"So?"

"I can help you get to her. I know that you know Alice Academy won't let you out of these walls until you graduate. Maybe not even then." Natsume knew the man was right, but stayed silent.

"What's the catch?"

"I think you've figured out where I'm from by now, and I think you know what I'm going to ask." Right again, Mystery Skull.

"You want me to join the Anti-Alice Organization, Z. You want me to join Z."

"If you do, all you have to do is go on missions for us and when we're done, we'll let you go." Natsume wasn't sure if Z would keep that promise, but a little chance was definitely better than no chance. Besides, the guy was right. Alice Academy wouldn't let him out for a long time, and it was growing increasingly harder to escape. Natsume didn't have a great track record of being a good little boy at the academy, and plus, he was too dangerous. He was smart enough to get what he wanted, and had the resources to do it. Almost nothing could stop him. Except, Sakura Mikan.

The man spoke up again. "If you disagree I'll leave here peacefully. We ain't making you join. But if you know what's best for Cherry Blossom, you'll consider." Natsume racked his brain. This could turn out in his favor. Inwardly, he smirked.

"Deal."

He never got to ask how the man got in. He was gone, just as quickly as he came. Teleportation Alice.

But Natsume didn't care. He walked just as leisurely as before, except in the opposite direction.

He had someone he needed to talk to.


	6. Chapter 6

**Note: The bold italic is Chikako's thoughts. Normal italic is the other guy. Adn also, it has been a little over a month since Chikako arrived at Alice Academy, and she already knows about the different ability classes, but not alice types.**

* * *

 _Damn it._

Natsume grit his teeth in pain, but anyone who didn't know him would've asked what was wrong. Natsume wasn't fighting criminals, or AAO, or bad guys. He was fighting himself. The Fourth Form Alice.

He was actually very surprised, but didn't show it. He didn't have a drop of blood on him, but he had had to use his Alice for a long period of time to set warehouses on the harbor aflame.

A year or two ago, Natsume would have looked back on his actions and justified them by telling himself, "I'm helping people. I don't kill innocent civilians. I hurt people who would've hurt my friends too. Alice Academy may be using unfair ways to get things done, but they are doing things for the greater good. The greater good…" Not even Ruka knew that the missions had not only a physical toll, but an emotional toll as well.

Sometimes, when Ruka and Mikan buzzed around him making sure _this_ didn't bruise and _that_ didn't get infected, all the Black Cat would think about was the guy who'd never see his family, his girlfriend, his wife, his whole life again. All because of his hands, stained red from what he'd had to do because of the Academy. And then Natsume would forget about himself and blame the Academy instead. It was the only way not to feel guilty.

Now, what excuse could he use? He wasn't on the side for the greater good. No, Natsume had joined the dark side, and they weren't going to let go that easily.

Natsume tasted the telltale metallic taste of blood. He had bitten down on his tongue, hard, to keep from crying out. His chest squeezed painfully. He was on the verge of passing out… he shouldn't have used his alice full blast for 4 minutes straight… how could he take care of Mikan if he wasn't alive? What kind of repayment would it be, for her to try and save him, only for him to use his alice up again and die in thanks? Natsume wasn't that cruel.

And suddenly, the insurmountable pain was gone.

He heard a knock on his door and sighed, heaving himself up from his luxurious, four-poster bed wearily. Before opening it, he hesitated. Who would be knocking at his door right now? Ruka knew to just barge in.

Chikako. She was fidgeting, looking down the hallway nervously. Her eyes were wild, slightly maniacal. Her skin was damp with a sheen of sweat. She calmed down when she noticed him. "Natsume," she said, her voice cracking with anxiety. "Something's happened."

* * *

 **TWO DAYS EARLIER**

 _Yumi was just minding her business when the boy jumped down_

A low growl.

 _Yumi was painting a masterpiece when_

A frustrated, "ARRGH!"

 _Once there was a girl named Yumi who_

Chikako crumpled the paper up into a ball and threw it, hitting a young elementary student sitting at another table squarely in the back. The writing project that Narumi had given the class was not turning out well.

Chikako grumbled something incomprehensible and stood up from the table. Crossing her arms in frustration, she stalked off, leaving her scattered papers and unsharpened pencils behind.

And she ran. Somewhere along the way, she paused, gasping for breath, in a strange place where all she could see was dark forest trees. _Whatever,_ Chikako thought. She could figure out how to find her way back when she wanted to come back. For now, she'd be okay.

Chikako sat down heavily on a fallen log, thinking back to her brother. That must've been the reason she couldn't concentrate before. She was thinking about her brother, not because she was an incompetent writer. She had won a writing contest in the fourth grade about a princess with powers who'd saved her kingdom.

 _How ironic,_ Chikako thought. _Now_ I'm _the one with powers. Although I guess it's too late to save anyone._

"That's not true." A voice, startling Chikako, seemed to come from somewhere within the trees. Chikako felt her walls coming up, guarding her from the newcomer.

"Who's there? Whaddya want?" she asked to the quiet forest air.

The voice, again. "What are you doing out here in the Northern Forest?"

"I asked you first."

 _A chuckle._

"I suppose you're right."

"Show yourself, or are you too chicken?" An old trick, one that wasn't going to work on the stranger. He laughed quietly, or at least she thought it was a _he_. It sounded like a _he_.

"I have a proposal for you." _I hope it's not marriage,_ Chikako thought.

The man again. "Do you know what my alice is?" he asked in a casual drawl.

"What do you think?"

"I'm a psychic." Chikako reared back in surprise. Did that mean he could read what she was thinking at the moment?

 _Yes, I can._ The unwelcome visitor made Chikako scramble to get her mind back into order. _**What are you doing? Get out!**_

 _I can bring your brother back._

A lengthy pause.

 _ **I'm listening.**_

 _All you have to do is listen to my ideas, and agree._

 _ **What do you want me to do?**_

 _I want you to join the Dangerous Ability Class. I want you to work for me. Then I'll use an alice to make your brother back alive again._

 _ **How do I know you're not lying?**_

 _How can you prove anything? There are hundreds of different alices. One could very well be resurrection. It doesn't have to be in this school._

 _ **Where will you get the Alice then?**_

 _I have my ways._

 _How cliche._

 _Are you in? You could bring back your brother, and you'll both play together again, just like old times._

The idea was so alluring that Chikako didn't stop to consider what kind of job she would be doing, if her brother would be alive again, or a ghost, or how the mysterious man even knew her and her brother. _Just like old times._ They could talk, run around, annoy each other incessantly, prank unsuspecting kids…

"I'll do it," she spoke, aloud this time, just the first reminder that their deal was official.

"Very good. Go to the Dangerous Ability Class at 11:00 tonight. Your first job is today. If you tell anyone about this arrangement, our deal is off, and you will have to work for me _without_ the other part of the deal." Chikako was too giddy to care. A chance, a _real_ chance at seeing her brother again. She was finally going to see him in the flesh, after two long years. Chikako answered,"Okay, whatever!"

And for once, she didn't wonder what she had gotten herself into this time.

* * *

 **To A (Guest): Hi A! I feel like you always send me really great reviews, but I can't answer since you don't have an account, so I'll answer them here!**

 **Thanks for the compliment! I'm really happy that you like my story so much (it makes me wanna jump up and down and squeal like a fangirl). Ha ha, yeah, I thought that since Natsume was always doing perverted things to Mikan in the manga/anime, then why stop?**

 **Okay, so to answer your question, the school isn't under the ESP anymore, but Natsume is staying longer because (as proud as he is), he knows he can't save Mikan alone. He needs his friends (also, from the author's view, I wanted to include Chikako as an Alice Academy student … hee hee!).**

 **I'm not sure what you mean by "treated the way he was with Persona." Do you mean that he's not allowed to leave? Because he's not treated** ** _badly_** **. He's treated like a normal student. Alice Academy never let people leave, even before the war, so they're not going to change that. Especially because Z is (kind of) rising again (if you remember that from the last Gakuen Alice chapter, where they were talking about how a group of Anti-Alice people, the "Alice Hunters," are kidnapping peole with Alices), so the Academy isn't letting people out anytime soon. If you don't remember, it's page 16 of chapter 180.**

 **…**

 **Actually, I don't want to reveal my entire plot, so… instead of fully explaining…**

 **You can check out Gakuen Alice manga's page 17 of 56 in chapter 180 on and if you still don't get it, ask me. Once again, thank you for the kind, kind compliments, and I'll try to update as often as I can!**

 **-KawaiiGirl254**


	7. Chapter 7

Chikako was far too giddy to even think about wondering what was going to happen to her at 11:00. She hardly listened to Narumi talking about Alice alumni and the things they could achieve, barely even caught him saying that there was an essay due the next week, and completely zoned out of the Dangerous Ability class's lecture on Alice Forms. She had learned the different ones in class the day before, but she wasn't in the mood for learning about them in detail.

Chikako had joined the Dangerous Ability class a few days after she, Natsume, Ruka, and weirdo Kokoroyomi figured it out. However, she didn't know the full extent of the Dangerous Ability's past. She only knew what Natsume had told her in his stories, and even that was kept to a minimum. Natsume may not have liked Chikako very much, but he was smart enough to know not to rattle her.

That also meant that she didn't know how exactly Natsume got hurt; she just knew that he did.

"Pop quiz!" were the first words that Chikako heard coming back from Dreamland. The class groaned, and she did too. She didn't realize that the pop quizzes and groaning were abnormal for this class, which at the same time meant that they were normal for a _normal_ class.

The Dangerous Ability class was far from normal. But who was she to know? Nobody expected her to know about Alice Academy's history any more than she learned in class. They all thought of her as the _normal_ girl unlucky enough to have a special alice.

Chikako noticed the teacher beckon Natsume close and bend down to whisper in his ear. After a moment's hesitation, Natsume nodded, and the teacher made a little mark on a paper he was holding. Then Natsume left the room. Walked out, as if it was Narumi's class. But the teacher didn't stop him. In fact, he caught Natsume's eye and nodded in understanding, then carried on and said, "Okay, here's your pop quiz on the different Alice Forms. Do your best."

As Chikako passed the quiz to the kid behind her, she skimmed over it, realizing that she actually might fail this quiz.

 _Name the characterisitics of Fourth Form Alice. **For extra credit, name one person with Fourth Form Alice and list the characterisitics that you have seen from that person.**_

 _What kind of Alice Form do you think the teacher has? List two reasons to support your answer._

Since Chikako didn't want to fail the only mildly-interesting class she had, she decided to go for the extra credit. "Hey!" she whispered to the guy next to her. "What's the answer to number one extra credit?" The boy stared at her in disbelief.

The girl behind him said, "She's new here. Plus she wasn't listening today. I could tell."

The boy rolled his eyes and said, "He's your friend, I think. And he's in this class."

Chikako stared at the boy in blatant shock as all the pieces fell into place.

"Natsume Hyuuga has the Fourth Form Alice?!"

* * *

Natsume grumbled as he walked down the empty hall, glaring at eveyrone he passed. He could almost hear Mikan chiding him in his head. _Stop that, Natsume! You'll scare everybody away! Don't be so gloomy!_ Then she'd poke him in the side, and although it didn't affect him at all, Natsume would turn his head so she wouldn't see his smile.

"Not my fault!" he said out loud. "It's that stupid new teacher! He acts so understanding all the time, when he doesn't even know the truth of the story! Just some half-assed ghost story that the Academy came up with so he'd get to hear our sob stories." Natsume emphasized his disdain by glaring at a passing middle schooler, and she dropped her books and ran in the opposite direction.

He smirked. _Mou, Natsume! You're being a bully!_ Mikan was so annoying.

Just for that, he straightened and stacked up the girl's books carefully, so that she could see him from the corner she was hiding behind. Then he waked back where he came from, and the girl came out cautiously. He didn't get to hear what she said, because he turned the corner, coming face-to-face with…

Sumire?

In an urgent voice, she said, "I've been looking everywhere for you! Listen, I think I can find Mikan."

* * *

The Alice Academy Elementary School Divison's curfew was at 8:30. By 8:30, all elementary school students should be in the dorm buildings, if not their dorm rooms. However, just because that was the rule didn't mean that everyone was going to follow it.

Chikako quietly walked down the halls, her feet padding softly. For once that day, she thought about what was going to happen next. _Whatever it is, it can't be too bad_ , she thought. _Or why would he make me do it?_

It was this kind of common sense that got her into situations like this.

She opened the door of the Dangerous Ability classroom, and saw the silhouette of a boy sitting in the window, bathed in moonlight. He jumped down with the agility of a cat.

"Hello," he said. He couldn't have been over 15 years old. "You must be Chikako."

His gray-brown hair gleamed, and he wasn't even wearing an Alice Academy uniform. Just a black muscle shirt and black jeans. The boy grinned. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Hiro."

Suddenly, out of the shadows, came three people. A girl, maybe 9 years old, wearing a brown tank top, gray shorts, and a choker with little spikes on it, a boy (17 years?) wearing dark blue cargo shorts and the same black muscle shirt as Hiro, and another girl, who looked the same age as Chikako, whose lip piercing shone in the moonlit room. She wore a dark gray long-sleeved top, and wore a black pleated mini skirt, with fishnet tights underneath.

For a minute, no one moved. Then suddenly the lip-piercing girl came forward and grinned, her little lip ring stretching slightly.

"Hi, I'm Ren. And welcome to the Alice Hunters."


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys! So listen, about what Sumire says (later), I completely made that up. It says nowhere in the manga/anime about if your alice can improve, but it never says that it _can't_ happen, so… okay. Just wanted you to know.**

* * *

"Wh-what? There're four of you? How many of you were talking to me before, in the forest?" Chikako asked.

The nine-year-old beamed and happily said, "All of us!" Chikako swayed.

"I need to sit down," she muttered, and sank into one of the chairs.

Ren smirked, and said, "Toldja she couldn't handle us! Pay up." The 17-year-old grumbled something, sending Ren into fits of laughter and making Hiro snort. He pulled a wad of yen out of his pocket and handed it to Ren. She smiled evilly as she went through it, making sure that all of it was there.

"I swear," the teenager murmured to Hiro in English, "that girl gets an evil glint in her eye when she even just looks at money." Hiro threw his head back and laughed.

Once Chikako had regained her composure, she lifted her head out of her arms and asked, "So… you said you were the Alice Hunters? What is that?" The four exchanged glances, as if they were asking each other questions in their head.

"Wait. First, do all of you have the Psychic Alice?" Chikako asked. The little girl shook her head.

"No, Hiro-onee-chan gave us Alice Stone so we could talk to you too! I'm Akemi! Hajimemashite!"

The 17-year-old said gruffly, "And I'm Makoto. H-hajime-m-mashit… e." Chikako raised her eyebrows at his clear struggle with 'Nice to meet you.'

"He's never been to Japan till now. He used to live in America," Hiro clarified.

"We fight."

Everyone turned their head toward Ren. She shrugged under their questioning gaze. "We fight, us Alice Hunters. Against other Alices. It's what we do." Hiro nodded gravely.

"Yeah. We fight for a cause -we can't tell you, at least not yet- and we fight alice vs. alice. Sometimes it's all down to you against someone else, which is why we're-" He gestured to the lot of them. " -going to teach you."

"Umm, are you even qualified to teach me how to use my alice? I mean, I'm in the Dangerous Ability class, surely they can teach me something."

Hiro chuckled. "Relax. I'm not a 5-year-old. I'm 14. So don't worry about that."

"Besides," Ren started. "Hiro can teach you _way_ more than those idiotic 'dangerous ability kids' or whatever. He's the best." Chikako could sense a slight longing and frustration in her voice, but decided not to ask.

Makoto chided, "Don't call them that, Ren. They have the Black Cat, of course."

Hiro chuckled at Ren's furious expression. "Yes," she said through gritted teeth. "The notorious _Natsume Hyuuga._ " Chikako raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"You know Natsume?" she asked.

" _You_ know Natsume?" was the reply.

"Wait, what?" they said at the same time, then looked at each other and laughed. Chikako started, "Tell me how you know him, and I'll tell you."

Hiro watched the two with a fond smile. He had a feeling that they would be best friends. Of course, him being a Psychic Alice, his feelings were never wrong. Makoto, Akemi, and him left quietly, unnoticed by the two girls.

* * *

"Come here." Natsume a protesting Sumire away from the hallway. "What are you talking about?"

Sumire smiled proudly. "Well, you see my alice improved."

I stared at her. "What?"

"My alice improved! You see, before, I could only sniff out people who had alices, but now I can find anyone!"

"But that rarely happens. Like once every hundred alices."

"Yeah, well, it happened to me. So now I can find Mikan!" She frowned slightly. "Although… I need something of hers. _That's_ gonna be hard to find, since the academy totally wiped any trace of her…"

Natsume couldn't beleive his ears. This was amazing news! "That's fine, I'll figure that out," he said hurriedly. "Are you _sure_ that you can find Mikan?" Sumire nodded in confirmation. The little boy inside Natsume was going, _YESSSSSS!_

But the outside teenager muttered a hurried, "Okay fine," and sped away. Sumire glared after Natsume's retreating figure. "You're welcome!" She yelled after him. Without turning back, Natsume raised a hand in thanks. But instead of being offended, Sumire simply smiled softly. She knew that he was already thinking of ways to get somethng of Mikan's. This was how he was going to work now. She didn't mind. And she didn't think anybody else did, either.

* * *

"Okay, you go first."

"What! Why should _I_ go first? _You_ should go first."

"Ren!"

"Chikako!"

The girls glared at each other for a moment before Ren huffed and turned away. "Fine, I'll go first."

Chikako smiled triumphantly.

"Eeooztiv… village… me."

Chikako blinked. "What?"

Ren glared at her. "HE USED TO LIVE IN THE SAME VILLAGE AS ME!" Chikako stared at Ren - with good reason. She was confused.

"Wait, I thought Natsume's village burned down." Ren glanced inquisitively at Chikako.

"How'd you know that?"

"Oh, uh, you know, just a, um, rumour." Ren narrowed her eyes at Chikako but shrugged it off.

"Okay," she said suspiciously. "Yeah, um, I wasn't in the village when it caught fire. I was playing in the woods, and by the time I came back, the village was burned down. Nobody was left. I was only 10 years old." She sighed. "I was wandering aimlessly like the fool I was when Hiro found me and realized that I had an alice, so he kind of took me in. I've been with him and Akemi ever since."

"Oh, Ren, you weren't a fool. You just lost your parents."

"Foster parents. My mom died when I was born, and my dad died of depression from the grief." Chikako covered her mouth with her hands. Ren continued, "You don't have to feel sorry for me or anything. People do that a lot. I didn't even know my parents."

"But to lose your real parents and your foster parents..."

Ren shot Chikako a glare. "Leave it, Chi. You tell me yours now. Enough about me."

Chikako reluctantly agreed. She explained how she came to the academy and met Natsume, and she explained what a stupid idiot she was on her first day. Ren made little sounds throughout the story, such as a gasp as her Mikan-insults and a 'tsk tsk' when Natsume came down from the Sakura tree. Somehow (Ren wouldn't tell her why or how) Ren already knew who Mikan was, so some of the explaining was unnecessary. ("She _is_ pretty wide-known, even in the other Alice Academies in other countries," Ren had said.)

"I guess I don't have to tell you about my brother, since you're helping me with him," Chikako said quietly as the explanation came to an end. Ren looked at Chikako gravely.

"Yeah. I'm sorry. Listen, it wasn't your fault, you didn't know a-"

Chikako stood up from the conversation abruptly. Her bangs covered her eyes, and her face was emotionless, so Ren couldn't read her expression. She said, in a tone that Ren couldn't quite place, "Listen, I gotta go. Mind-talk to me when you guys need to."

Ren looked guilty. "Oh, Chi, I didn't mean to… Are you okay?" Chikako wasn't out the door yet. She didn't turn back and answered in a monotone, "Huh? Yeah. I'm fine." Chikako ran out of the room, and Ren caught a slight sob before she left.

Ren sighed miserably and got up to leave as well. As soon as she stepped outside, she was face-to-face with Hiro. She smiled.

"Hey, hero."

He grinned. "Hey Ren." She started walking, and he fell into step beside her. "Listen," she started, "Why did you tell Chi that you were going to train her." It wasn't a question. It was a statement. She wasn't asking, she was commanding an answer. Hiro's teasing smile grew stony. He stopped walking.

"Ren, you know it's for the best."

"Why won't you teach me?!"

" _We've been over this._ "

"Well, I don't get it. You won't teach me, and you don't even let me fight half the time!"

What was whisper-screaming went on to full-blown yelling.

"I'M TRYING TO PROTECT YOU!"

"YEAH, WELL YOU'RE NOT DOING A VERY GOOD JOB OF IT!"

"WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO, REN? TEACH YOU HOW TO KILL SO THE GUILT CAN EAT AT YOU LIKE IT DOES TO ME AND VERYBODY ELSE?"

"YOU TRAINED AKEMI FOR KAMISAMA'S SAKE!"

"THAT'S DIFFERENT!"

Ren yelled in frustration. "What's different about it? She's your little sister! Why can't you teach a friend?"

Hiro stepped toward her, guilt clear in his eyes. "Ren, you know I think of you… differently than that. Not like a friend." He reached for her hand, but she yanked it away.

"Then what?" She asked, feeling cruel. Why couldn't he teach her? He taught Akemi to use her alice, and the girl was only 9 years old! "An acquaintance? I guess if I'm not worthy to be taught by you, I'm not worthy to be consoled by you either," she spat.

His expression grew downcast. "Ren…"

"Just leave me alone!" She ran off, flying tears blending into the starry sky.

Two girls fell asleep crying that night.

* * *

To A (Guest):

Yeah, this time I got to update pretty quickly. That's probably because I got three life-changing (nah, just kidding) ideas in like, one second, while staring out the window of a car, thinking about how I know that I recognize that cloud's shape… but _what is it?_

OH YEAH, NATSUME SHOULD TOTALLY DO THAT! : )

Believe me, I was literally squealing when I checked my mail on my phone when I saw your review. My eyes got wider and wider because it was SO LONG AND GONNA BE SO FUN TO ANSWER!

So yeah. Ha ha. Anyway, instead of answering you on your Natsume question, I decided to change the chapter. So if you go back to chapter 6, you'll see what I changed… I know I was a little vague, going back, so I'm sorry about that. You see, there's this fanfic writer, November Romeo (check her out on my profile-favorite stories/favorite writer!), who's like my idol. I seriously want to be her when I grow up (nah, kidding, though I do want to be a writer). She had this idea that Natsume beleives that he can't leave the academy, and I based mine on that. So I should probably go back and give her credit for her idea. Dang, A, you're making me work so hard!

About the Persona-Mystery Skull guy, I can tell you one thing: I'm not really going to go into him and Z that much, but I'll probably go into the Alice Hunters more.

Hmmm *smiles* I'm going to leave you to your thinking instead of answering. I like your ideas *smiles in superiority because I know how the story's gonna go and you don't*

Yeah! A lot of people are going to help Natsume find Mikan, but I'll let you try to figure out who. You probably will, though, within the first few moments of reading this. I'm kinda predictable *sheepish smile* Thanks for the love! See you next time!

-KawaiiGirl1215


	9. Chapter 9

**Some of you may not read the author's note in the start, but this one is kinda important.**

I'm so sorry I haven't updated in so long! I had pretty bad writer's block, and was in a slump for a long time. But I'll try to update as much as I can this week since I'm on spring break.

Okay, before I forget: I finally found a way to be able to show you the pictures for the characters that are OCs.

I have a Tumblr account now (yay me!). And so now I can show you the images! Although, since they are from the internet, they aren't _exactly_ what I wanted, but they are definitely close.

Check them out and tell me what you think! Tell me if you found a picture that suits a character better! My tumblr account name is: thecakegoesmeow

 ****Also, important: I changed Chapter 6 slightly, and maybe you haven't noticed, but one part is different. However, it's really important for keeping track of the time/days of what happens next, remember that. I've added a 'TWO DAYS EARLIER' to it. Please check it out.****

This chapter has a lot of time-changes, so remember that too.

Happy reading!

-KawaiiGirl

* * *

Chikako hated to leave so suddenly that night when she met the Alice Hunters. They'd said that she had a job, and she hadn't even paid it any attention.

 _But they really can mind-talk me after all_ , she thought. So Hiro'll do it, and I'll know by tomorrow, I'm sure. Although she was avoiding it, she felt really guilty for leaving Ren like that. But she couldn't help it, not when they knew about what happened to her brother. She couldn't handle the pitying stares and apologies. Why were they apologizing when they had done nothing wrong?

It was her fault that Yamamoto Itsuki was dead. All because of her stupid writing contest and stupid alice.

* * *

 **ONE YEAR EARLIER, Chikako's life**

"Onee-chan!"

"What, Chikako?"

"We're going to be late!"

Itsuki Yamamoto huffed. "Well, I can't control the traffic, and I definitely can't control the weather."

At 17, Itsuki was already very handsome. He had soft dark brown hair, not unlike his sister, and a kind smile. He was almost too tall to be in the car he was driving, but he'd made it. Anything for his little sister.

Chikako pouted slightly in the passenger seat and looked out the window. Rain water streamed down the windows, blurring the lights from the surrounding cars.

It was the second time she had won a writing contest. It was a big deal for her, because unlike her brother, winning didn't come naturally.

Itsuki was a straight A student, plus had gotten his baseball team to regionals before he fell sick and the team lost without him. He'd been to tons of tournaments and contests and science fairs, so when their parents were out of town on a trip, he had offered to take Chikako to her writing contest award ceremony. It was only fair.

Chikako was excited, but not exactly happy at the moment. She appreciated her bother doing this for her, but what she really wanted was for her parents to come. She was starting to hate America for taking her parents away from her every time something nice happened. It was so unfair! They came to all his baseball games. They came to his science fairs. But they weren't able to come to her writing contest awards ceremony.

"Why can't they come to any of my stuff?" Chikako muttered darkly.

Itsuki shot his sister an inquisitive glance. "Are you talking about Mama and Papa?"

Chikako glared at him and said, "Yes! Mama and Papa always come to your events and such. But they never come to mine! They didn't even come last year in fourth grade when I won that other writing contest!"

"That's not true. They came to your dance performance."

"That was in first grade! Besides, I barely have performances or games or award ceremonies because I hardly win anything! And the few times I do, it's like they don't even care anymore! Just because I'm not as good as you!"

Itsuki was aghast at his little sister's outburst. She stared at him, horrified at what she just said.

"I-I didn't mean that." Itsuki stayed silent. His knuckles were white from clenching the steering wheel so hard.

He started, in a low and controlled voice, "It doesn't matter who is better. Mama and Papa love us both equally."

Chikako felt anger rise up in her again. He wasn't getting her point! The car in front of them had moved far forward while the siblings were having their argument. Itsuki turned and pressed on the acceleration just as Chikako screamed, "But it's like the universe likes you better than me! So now they let Papa and Mama come to all your events, but something always gets in the way of mine! The universe hates me, just because I'm not perfect and nice and athletic and smart like YOU!"

Their car was speeding up to catch up to the car ahead of them while Chikako ranted. All her anger was let out when she yelled again, "IT'S SO UNFAIR!"

At that, suddenly, something exploded from Chikako. Itsuki's eyes grew wide. "What the…" He pressed on the brakes again and again, but the car refused to listen. The space between them and the car ahead was closing rapidly.

The car ahead went on and turned on the turn, but Itsuki's car's steering wasn't going to listen. Instead, Itsuki took his hands off of the wheel and wrapped them around his sister, bracing himself for the impact.

* * *

 **PRESENT DAY, Alice Academy**

Later, the nurses at the hospital told Chikako she was incredibly lucky. She had escaped the crash almost unhurt. Just a little bruise on her face and a sprained wrist. Other than that, nothing.

Itsuki hadn't been so lucky. He had died protecting his sister, and Chikako would always blame herself for that. Especially because of what she heard a few days after being released from the hospital.

They told her that it was one of the most violent and unfortunate cases of alice discovery that they had ever seen. With her anger had come her alice: Metal-Manipulation.

She had unknowingly caused the steering and brakes to cease to operate. Therefore, at such a high speed, the car was certain to crash, all because of her and her alice. It wasn't a nice thought to think about. It _was_ her fault that day, whether she liked it or not. There were so many reasons. They were going to _her_ writing contest, it was _her_ anger, it was _her_ alice. How could the blame be one anybody else?

And, they told her, Itsuki had played the hero once again. The nice one, the good-looking one, the athletic one, the intelligent one, the one without a life-threatening alice…

You know, was what they had said, alices run in the Yamamoto family. Maybe Chikako's luck had something to do with a shield, or maybe even a shield alice…

Chikako was reminded yet again that night that it was all her fault and Itsuki had played the perfect, loved hero. And there was nothing she could do about it. She had been wrong, yet again; he had been right, _yet again_ , and her mistake was irreversible now.

But it wasn't. With the allure of a Resurrection Alice, Chikako couldn't refuse the Alice Hunters' offers.

She had someone to say sorry to. And say, "You were right. Again. Can you forgive me?" And now she could finally do it.

* * *

Ren didn't like lying, especially to people she liked. So when she had to lie to Chikako, she felt like a lousy friend.

Well… was it really lying? _Not really_ , she told herself. _Just not telling the whole truth. See? It wasn't lying._

How could she tell Chikako that she never really had parents for most of her life, foster or not? She was a pet. The secret pet girl of the village forest, found and adopted by Natsume Hyuuga. It was actually quite a long story. Through the years, Ren had come to realize how lucky she had been that day.

It wasn't exactly true that her parents died at or shortly after her birth. In fact, she had known them. They died when she was 6 years old. Killed is a better word. From what she knew, her parents were killed by alices. And that did not bode well when she came to know that she had an alice too. Two actually. Time-traveling always did come in handy, and she could fly like Peter Pan.

That's what Makoto said, at least. She didn't have any idea who Peter Pan was.

Ren actually hadn't ever used her time-traveling alice. Well, at least not more than once…

* * *

 **9 YEARS AGO, Ren's life**

The kids in Natsume's village found that it was hard to scare the crimson-eyed boy, but I mean, if a girl poked her head out from the bushes while you were walking home through the dark woods at night, you'd be a little surprised.

Natsume jumped about a mile when he saw a face peeking through the leaves of the bush he was plucking berries off of. His face was emotionless, however. The girl found, over the years, that not much could change his expression. Only two things: his sister and that blonde-haired wimp.

Natsume shoved the branches out of the way to get a better look of the girl. She seemed older than him… but he wasn't really sure. He had moved here about a few months ago, so he couldn't help it if he didn't know who she was. He'd never seen her around, but that didn't mean anything. You couldn't expect a cold boy like him to know everyone in town and socialize with them.

Her pink polka-dotted dress was dusty from sitting on the ground for so long, and her long, long hair had leaves and twigs on it because it was pooled on the ground.

She stared up at him without saying anything. In a second, Natsume found that he liked this gal. She wasn't unnecessarily talkative, nor was asking him anything or whining.

She was simply sitting on the ground with her party dress getting dirtier by the minute, staining her hands with the blackberries she was eating.

And the girl liked Natsume too. He wasn't asking her anything, like what she was doing in the forest or why she was eating blackberries without washing them. That's what her maid would say, and she'd fuss over her ruined dress, especially after she popped the last blackberry in her mouth and wiped her hands on it.

Natsume grabbed the girl's arm without her consent and hauled her up. Two years younger than her at eight, he was still taller than her, but just by a little bit.

Dusting her hands off again (the maid would faint from horror), she put out her hand.

"Ren," she said. He regarded her silently, as if appraising her and the situation.

"Natsume."

And that was where it all began.

* * *

Hi A! Super sorry for the late update and response… but I'm here now, and that's what counts (right? *hee hee*).

You're welcome! Honestly, I'd feel really bad if I _didn't_ answer your reviews, so it's good for me too. You write such long ones, you make me feel honored. I'm glad you feel that way! (Personally, I wait for your reviews too… hint, hint!)

It is a little disheartening, but I think that Natsume will be fine. He's got Mikan, after all. Plus, he works really hard. He'll do whatever it takes to get her back. In the end, if he's got her, he'll be happy no matter where she is. But personally, I think that if he's able to get her back, then he'll be able to live peacefully outside the academy. That's because I feel like Mikan embodies some kind of a personal shooting star that can grant you wishes, or some kind of miracle worker. If he can get her back, he can do anything.

Yeah, I do a little bit. I wanted to involve the Alice Hunters into the story, so I thought, _Heck, why not give them a little backstory!_ I like to connect things together, like waving a massive spiderweb, so backstories are kind of my thing. : ) Who knows, maybe you'll be fond of them later! If you ask me, I already am.

YES! YOU MUST CHECK OUT NOVEMBER ROMEO! SHE IS AMAZING! Sorry, got carried away with fangirling and caps lock and whatnot. You will die reading her story His Dark, Kind Soul. The whole thing is practically a backstory, and I swear you'll be addicted in a day. If you like it (I can't imagine you not liking it; I read the reviews and she gets _essays_ for reviews!), then you can read every single one of her stories, then read them again and again, and finish every one thinking, _How does she do it?_

I'm not kidding. Anyone who's reading this right now just for fun and is _not_ A, what are you waiting for? READ IT! It will be worth your time, I can guarantee. She doesn't leave anyone out. My favorites are His Dark, Kind Soul (obviously), Aviator Shades (this one will make you smile at the end), All About Tonight (this one will definitely make you smile), and Of Fortunes and Ferrets (because Rukaru is the best!).

Actually, all of them are my favorites. : )

Thank you! I hope to update as soon as possible, especially with a _blah_ ending like this chapter's. See you next time!


	10. Chapter 10

For those of you who want the normal GA characters back, don't worry, they'll make an appearance next chapter.

* * *

Most people said that when you loved someone, there wasn't a definitive moment where you figured it out, like: _yes, that day was the day I started loving her._ Often times, people believed that you had loved someone the whole time without knowing it and just realized it one day.

Natsume wasn't sure whether he agreed or not. However, he knew that there was a specific day that he realized that Mikan was as special as they got.

* * *

 **TWO YEARS AGO, ALICE ACADEMY**

"Ne, Natsume, what do we do in the summer at Alice Academy?"

The mentioned boy shot Mikan a glance. "What do you mean? We stay here of course. Any idiot would know that."

Mikan winced. "Okay… so … you know what the weather's gonna be like next week?"

"Check the internet."

"What do you have for lunch?"

"Whatever's in the cafeteria."

"Who's your favorite teacher?"

"I hate all of them."

Mikan puffed her cheeks out and glared at Natsume angrily. "Geez! All I'm trying to do is make small talk!"

Natsume glowered back. 'Nobody wants to talk to you, idiot girl."

"Natsume!" Mikan sniffled. "That's mean!"

The duo were waiting for their best friends, Ruka and Hotaru, respectively. It just so happened that Ruka wanted to meet Natsume in the same spot that Hotaru wanted to meet Mikan. However, both were already pretty late, and Natsume was starting to get annoyed. He began plotting ways to escape the Polka-Dotted idiot (in that day's case, it was Teddy-Bear print) so he could go throttle the animal lover.

"... So yeah, Hotaru's newest invention is going to wow everybody at the International Technology Connotation… or is it contraption… commandment… convention… _That_ must be it!"

Natsume was so startled by the brunette's outburst that he fell out of the Sakura Tree and in front of her.

"Natsume! Are you okay? Come on, I'll take you to the nurse… but Hotaru might come any second…"

Mikan turned to look at Natsume (who was rubbing his head and trying to look like he meant to awkwardly fall out of a tree) thoughtfully. Without hesitation, she reached down and put his arm around his shoulders, trudging across the lawn with fierce determination. Natsume's head was spinning, but he couldn't tell if that was from the concussion that he had or the softly sweet smell of Mikan's lavender shampoo.

Before long, Natsume started to notice that Mikan was wheezing. Just how heavy was he? He yanked his arm out of her grasp (He had no idea why, but some kind of feeling came over him when he thought of Mikan in pain, that he just had to relieve her of it.), but the second he did so, he promptly collapsed on the ground.

Why did he overwork himself on the mission yesterday? Actually, today. He had groggily woken up at 1 AM to stop a terrorist from leaving Japan with nuclear weapons. He had come back to the safety of his luxurious dorm room at 7 AM and taken a shower to go to school. Luckily he didn't have any physical injuries, but if he kept going like this, his body wouldn't be able to keep up with his missions. He'd die of exhaustion if Persona didn't kill him off first.

Suddenly, the fatigue was too much to bear. Yet, he had to make sure no one except the brunette was around, otherwise the rumors would go on for days.

Natsume heaved himself up, Mikan's concern like white noise to him. All he had to do was get into an empty room in the building. No need to travel all the way to the boy's dorm for the nurse.

Mikan was hurrying around him, trying to support him in some way, but he shook her off and made it to a vacant classroom. He slammed the door after her and sank to his knees, shaking. This time, Mikan wasn't about to be pushed away. She sat down in front of him with an air of determination. She wasn't leaving without an answer.

Natsume put his head between his knees, avoiding Mikan's intense gaze. Dimly, he had been wondering how long it would take him before his body gave up. Only a few hours and falling out of a tree.

Mikan was silent for a few minutes before speaking, and what she said was not what he expected, neither was it said in a way that he expected.

"Natsume." He didn't lift his head. More forcefully this time, "Natsume." Mikan took his face with her hands and lifted his head for him. Natsume was surprised to see something not unlike ferocity in the girl's eyes, and something else he couldn't quite place.

Was it protection?

Natsume admitted that if someone told him when Mikan first came to Alice Academy that she would want and try her very hardest to protect him, he would have either stared, laughed, or punched that person in the face. Because it just couldn't be true.

But now, Natsume wasn't finding that so hard to believe. It was seeming more and more possible, especially when Mikan calmly looked him straight in the eyes and said, "Natsume, what can I do to help you?"

No, the protection thing was starting to make a lot of sense. Besides, he would never admit it, but Natsume wasn't at all displeased when he thought about the idea of it.

"I can get you some medicine—" Mikan stood up, getting ready to leave. She didn't need to have a mind-reading alice to understand that Natsume didn't want to go to the nurse.

"No!" Natsume barked. "Can-Can you just stay here a while?"

Mikan didn't look the least bit shocked at Natsume's sudden change in attitude. In fact, she acted like it was normal for someone to completely change their personality in under 5 minutes. She gave Natsume one last look before she sank to the floor, bringing her knees to her chest and resting her head on the wall.

Natsume was surprised when Mikan didn't comment on this other side of him. Watching her as she put her head between her knees just as he did, he realized that he hadn't hesitated in showing Mikan his vulnerable side. The side that only came out when he was all alone, when tears poured down his face, hot and fast. When he had just killed someone, or when the pain was just too much to bear.

And something felt right with her, not the same way it did with other people. It was all right to be weak, just for once, because Mikan would be right beside him.

As if reading his thoughts, Mikan turned her head and looked up at the pyrokinetic. "Natsume, you can't do it all, no matter how hard you try. Nobody can. Hotaru tries to very hard and comes close a lot, but even she has her down days. Listen to me," she said as Natsume averted his gaze.

Mikan softly continued, "Besides, alone we are strong, yet together we are stronger. I know you push us away on purpose, Natsume. I don't know why, but one of these days I'm going to find out. In the meantime, I'm going to stick to you like glue. I'm going to try harder because, as I said, we can't do everything, but we can come close if we try. I don't think just Hotaru can do that."

Now he understood why Imai had chosen the pigtailed girl to be her best friend. There was something about her, something that was just… he couldn't find the right word for it.

 _Special._

The afternoon sun slanted through the windows, illuminating certain parts of the dusty linoleum floor. In the sun's shadow, Mikan took Natsume's hand and started stroking it, running her soft fingers over all of his burns and callouses. Natsume sighed and lay his heavy head on the girl's shoulder.

He could still smell the shampoo, but this time he wasn't confused. He understood now.

Mikan started humming a light tune, taking both of the boy's hands and exploring them. Natsume had closed his eyes, but Mikan knew better than to think that he was asleep. It would be alright, he thought, if he could stay like this again someday. Nobody but Mikan would be there though.

A peaceful quietness fell over the unused room filled with Natsume's breathing and Mikan's jovial melody.

Alone they were strong, but together they were stronger.

* * *

 **PRESENT DAY, ALICE ACADEMY**

 _Hey._

Chikako screamed.

 _Whoa, whoa, chillax. It's just me, Hiro._

 _ **YOU FREAKING SCARED ME!**_

 _I know, right? You screamed like a little kid._

A pause.

 _ **Are the others here today?**_

A snicker from the other end of the conversation.

 _Nah, just me. Anyways, we have our first training for you. Akemi will come get you soon, so be ready._

Before she could ask how Akemi knew her dorm number, or why Akemi was even in Alice Academy at the moment, Hiro cut the call. Chikako felt a little tug in the back of her mind, so she knew Hiro had left. Plus there was a slight feeling of emptiness, but all was normal in a few seconds. It was so quick she almost missed it.

She sighed, remembering she had to put on a brave face today. After the awkward end to the night with Ren the last time the Alice Hunters met, Chikako needed it to seem like nothing was wrong. With nothing else to do, she got up from her sprawled-out position on the bed and decided to meet Akemi outside the dorm rooms to save time.

Chikako turned the corner of the hall, but stopped as she found the building's doors. Some stupid little girls were standing in front of it, all huddled in a circle. She tried to move past them, but the elevator next to the door dinged, and out came another onslaught of elementary school girls.

Through her irritation, Chikako dimly wondered if something was wrong, or why else would there be so many people here? The dorm should have normally been empty. It was a Sunday, and nobody wanted to be alone.

She sighed. "Excuse me," Chikako said. They didn't even spare her a glance. "Hello? Can you please move? I need to get to the door."

Instead, the short redhead closest to her giggled and said to her friend, "Kisa-chan, Suzuki-san really looks different now, ne?" Kisa looked at the redhead, then to the middle of the circle, craning her neck to see over the sea of heads. She turned to her friend and rolled her eyes. "Obviously, Yumi, she _does_ have the alice to change her appearance!"

Chikako glowered at "Kisa-chan" and "Yumi" and yelled, "MOVE!"

The lobby fell quiet, and Chikako wondered for a second if she'd went too far. But then someone whispered, "Geez, you coulda asked _nicely._ "

Chikako whirled around to face the girl. "Oh, so you think I didn't do that first? I guess little girls really are airheads. Did you even realize that you'd been blocking the doorway for 10 minutes?" The offending elementary schooler shrunk away.

Shuffling, the crowd cleared a path for Chikako that went through the center of the circle. "Finally," she muttered. But when she reached the middle, she stopped in confusion.

The girl standing there, most likely Suzuki-san from what Chikako had come to understand from the conversation earlier, blinked uncomprehendingly. Her black hair fell in waves down her back, and Chikako noticed that the Alice Academy uniform was just a teensy bit too tight.

"Eh? Akemi-chan?"

* * *

"Thank you so much. I swear, they were drowning me back there."

Chikako laughed. "What're they doing anyways?"

Akemi sighed. "It's kinda a long story, but I actually used to go to this school, and so did Hiro. But then Hiro dropped out and I did too because I didn't want to be alone here, even though I really liked school. And I haven't gone to school for like, three years now, but I came back because you go here and it would be easier to communicate if an Alice Hunter was here too. Plus, I hadn't wanted to leave Alice Academy anyways, so it makes sense. Also, Hiro can't come back now."

Chikako blinked. "Huh? Why not?"

Akemi winced. "Oh, well… he did something that the Academy would never forgive right before he left. Just so the Academy wouldn't go and find him after that because he'd technically be expelled."

Chikako kept her curiosity at bay, because even though she _really_ wanted to know what happened, she wouldn't get information anytime soon, judging by the way Akemi explained it so vaguely. Instead, she decided to change the subject.

"Hey, so your last name is Suzuki, right?"

"Yeah…"

"So, you can change your appearance at will, huh?"

Finally Akemi grinned. She was obviously proud of her alice. "Yup. Metamorphosis Alice. I can look however I want."

Chikako smiled at the 9-year-old's pride. "Yeah, I heard some of your entourage talking about how you look different than before. I figured it was because of your Alice."

Suddenly, Hiro came out of nowhere, literally. Even Akemi jumped back because he appeared so quickly.

"Wha-!"

"No time!" Hiro yelled. "Come on!"

Hiro grabbed his sister's hand and Chikako's forearm, seeming to pull them into a doorway, but there wasn't anything there. It was just air. Chikako felt a weird lightheadedness, like when you're on a rollercoaster and your heart feels like it's gone for just one second, then everything comes rushing towards you in a wild yet controlled way.

Everything spun out of proportion, shrinking and stretching and twisting, all the colors blurring together to form a rainbow mass. Then there was a _zip_ , like someone tore something, and Chikako felt like she'd just gotten off the rollercoaster.

As if displaying Chikako's feeling, Akemi grabbed the nearest trash can and promptly threw up.

Chikako had tipped over from dizziness, but Hiro pulled her back up. Words sluggish, she muttered, "Where're we…"

Trash cans were scattered over the dock and the strong stench of fish blew into the threesome's noses with the wind. They looked over the dock and saw the harsh, beating tides of the endless sea just upon them, separated only by a measly metal railing.

Akemi and Hiro glanced at each other, doing that silent talking-in-their-heads thing that only siblings who were really close could looked back at Chikako, who seemed to be enraptured by the ocean's waves. Hiro seemed to tell the shapeshifter something; she nodded in return and cleared her throat.

"Geez onee-chan! You coulda warned us, there isn't anybody here!"

Hiro gave her an approving look. _Nice way to start The Talk._

 **Oh shut up, onee-chan. Chikako's gonna be furious, though. You aren't telling her anything!**

 _That's what today is for. You know why we're here._

 **Yeah… I didn't want to think about it, but I guess we'll get this over with. And then explain our life stories to her.**

 **But I can't help but feel bad for her. She's so clueless, but she thinks she's totally in control. It's gonna be a rude awakening, although I think that she's gonna show her true colors. Maybe even tougher than Ren.**

 _Hmph. Don't tell Ren you said that._

 **Yeah, yeah.**

"You know I always throw up after you teleport us somewhere!" Akemi continued. Chikako finally turned away from the water to gaze at the older boy.

"Where… are we?"

Casually, Hiro said, "Somewhere on the edge of Kyoto, I think."

"Oh."

" _Wait_ , did you say _Kyoto_?"

"Yup."

"Oh."

The only sound heard was the splashing of waves under the elevated dock.

"Okay, I can't deal with this anymore: How did we get so fast from one place to another? And why are we here?" Chikako asked after a few moments.

Hiro sighed. He really was going to have to tell her his life story. "I can't tell you everything, but the short form is-"

"NO!" Chikako blurted out. "I don't want your stupid: 'here's the short version' or 'it's highly classified' or any of that crap. Tell me it straight, or I ain't going anywhere. _Or_ I may just walk away right now and the Academy will track me and you down. From what Akemi said, you're still on the run, right? Guess I could leave them an anonymous tip."

Hiro glared at a rock next to Chikako's left shoe while she gazed coolly at him. Akemi looked back and forth between the two teens, before blurting out, "You really are tougher than Ren!"

The tension dissipated, and the two laughed. Akemi smiled smugly, but when the giggles died down, she said, "Okay, but onee-chan, you really need to tell her what's going on."

"Yeah," Chikako agreed. "At least give me some of the backstory. Why don't you start where you dropped out of the Academy, or should I say, you half dropped out and were half expelled."

Hiro sighed. "Okay. I was left Alice Academy because at that time, I had gotten an offer to join an organization which the Alice Hunters are a subgroup of. And I left with a bang, because, well…" he trailed off, but then restarted.

"I would have been kicked out because I kidnapped a student."


End file.
